Tug removal underway from Duncan Bay

The new owner of three derelict vessels abandoned in Duncan Bay nearly three years ago has contracted to dredge a grounded tugboat free from a sandbar.

By MIKE FORNESmike@cheboygantribune.com

The new owner of three derelict vessels abandoned in Duncan Bay nearly three years ago has contracted to dredge a grounded tugboat free from a sandbar.Stephen Ball of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., arrived about a week ago and began preparations to hire Kokosing Construction Company’s Durocher Marine division of Cheboygan to dig out the tug, according to Larry Shepard, harbormaster of the Duncan Bay Yacht Club. Shepard has led an effort to have the three ghost ships removed from the bay.“He came in about a week ago and said he was planning to move the William Hoey,” Shepard said. “I told him that was great, but we’ve heard that before. It’s great to see something happening out there.”Durocher has assigned the workboat Marsha M and the barge MM 141 to dredge the area where the tug is grounded. As of late Monday afternoon, the Hoey had been freed from the sandbar and crews were digging a path to deeper water.“Once off the shoal, my understanding is he (Ball) plans to tow the Hoey to the Cheboygan River for inspection and any necessary work to repair leaks and broken windows,” Shepard explained. “Then, he said they are headed for the Sault.”Water levels in the bay are up about six inches from last fall, Shepard estimated, which should help efforts to free the Hoey.“We have about eight or nine feet in the harbor and the same in our channel, which was dredged last fall,” Shepard said.Sunday, the Joelle AnnMarie arrived to assist with the project. Ball has said that the car ferry would be a key in lifting the sunken Jenny Lynn from the bottom. “I couldn’t do it unless all three vessels were involved,” Ball said following visiting Charlevoix County Judge Richard Pajtas’ decision to uphold the DNR transfer of ownership of the William Hoey, the sunken Jenny Lynn and the car ferry Joelle Annmarie from Scotlund Stivers to Ball. “The ferry is the platform for raising the sunken tug.”Shepard said Ball told him he plans to remove the Jenny Lynn this summer.“Everybody wants to see it go,” Shepard said of his marina community. “It’s been a long time coming, but now they’ve regenerated activity out there. It’s time they’re gone. As the days go by, we will see.”Ball said at the hearing that he was unsure of specific plans for the three ghost ships of Duncan Bay, although he stated they wouldn’t be sold for scrap. Another year of exposure to the elements may have changed his plans.“It’s too bad, they could have been usable but now I don’t know what costs he’ll incur,” Shepard said of Ball’s plans for the tugs. “The car ferry is running again but the cracked plumbing and engine damage to the Hoey may be too much to fix.”The Jenny Lynn has been submerged for almost three years.Stivers abandoned the three vessels in the bay in July 2010. Subsequent efforts to cause him to forfeit the ghost fleet eventually resulted in a court action naming Ball as the owner in March 2012, when Stivers attempted to take his own life by ingesting sodium cyanide. In April 2013, a bail bondsman revoked Stivers’ bond after admitted that he had tried to sell the vessels in order to get money to leave the country. Stivers was jailed, but granted bond by another agency and is currently free on that bail.